In an effort to spur the adoption of solar energy in Central
Oregon, Solar Now! will hold its third annual conference, Solar Now!
University, in Bend beginning Thursday evening.

Solar Now!, a
collaboration between two nonprofits — Solar Oregon and Energy Trust of
Oregon — as well as the Oregon Department of Energy and the City of
Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, was originally
established to promote the use of solar energy in the Portland area,
said Claire Carlson, executive director of Solar Oregon.

After
successfully increasing the use of solar energy in Portland, she said,
the organization decided to expand its mission to the rest of the state
by creating the annual conference.

The conference, being held at
McMenamins Old St. Francis School, will open with a reception Thursday
at the Deschutes Brewery & Public House. While solar installation
companies are invited to attend, the conference is geared toward
educating the public and providing a networking opportunity for
community leaders who want to develop solar projects in Central Oregon,
Carlson said.

“The solar landscape changes so much year to year,"
she said. “Having knowledge about tax credits and incentives, the cost
of solar, what is available to homeowners, ownership options and utility
policies, makes getting solar projects off the ground easier."

Topics
at the conference will include solar housing development, developing
neighborhood solar projects, the future of solar as an industry,
increasing access to solar energy and solar policies and incentives,
according to the agenda.

Evan Elias, energy analyst for the Oregon
Department of Energy, is scheduled to speak about the new energy
incentive programs for solar.

In his presentation, he said, he
will discuss the way the new program is similar to and differs from its
long-standing predecessor, the Business Energy Tax Credit program.

“Due
to caps that were imposed on the new program, some solar projects will
have to compete for incentives (grants)," he wrote in an email.
“However, in other cases, projects may qualify for the Small Premium
Project part of the program that will have a more streamlined or
prescriptive approach."

The goal of the conference is to get
projects happening, Carlson said, which will stimulate the local economy
and increase the growth of renewable energy in the area.

Having
the conference in Bend reflects the interests and values of the
community, said Mike Riley, the executive director of The Environmental
Center. Riley, who helped organize the event, said from local
government, businesses and residents installing solar energy panels and
other solar devices to the large number of businesses that are oriented
toward renewable energy, there’s a lot of interest in solar in Central
Oregon.

He noted that the citizens of Bend made renewable energy a
priority in the action plan for the Bend 2030 “vision," a
community-developed plan for what Bend would look like in the year 2030.

“It’s
great for us to be able to host an event like this," he said. “We can
learn more about what is going on in other parts of the state, hear the
case studies and think about how we could either replicate or adapt
what’s working in our community."